Giving up on my Zenfone 9

[darklajid]

I know this isn't the best place to share this, but maybe someone is browsing this board not as a fan and owner, but as a prospective buyer. For these people I want to share the following:
The Zenfone 9 has an amazing form factor, great battery life and a mostly uncluttered (free of bloat) version of Android.
Unfortunately, it's also very very slow (my old Pixel 4A is smoother and we had 5, 6 and now 7 in that series since). The Zenfone 9 stutters, randomly hangs a lot. The second SIM tray never worked okay (I created a thread on this board for this, another user reported the same issue. No follow-up or solution, thread is closed due to inactivity). GPay doesn't work properly for me in some scenarios (and no, it's not my account or card or whatever). Asus did follow up here, but it lead nowhere in the end.
So the phone cannot do the daily tasks I need it for (use my second SIM and/or pay for public transport) and feels more sluggish than a device that is quite a few years older. I'll switch back and just got a screen replacement for the 4A instead.
People that are on the fence about getting this phone: I suggest a hands-on session first. It might be a great device for you or it might not be a good fit - like for me.

[landsome]

Nothing wrong with MY phone either. It's quite a bit smoother than my Pixel 4, 4a, and 5 (I refuse to give them up for some reason) and there are no major troubles to report. Small issues at most.

[Danishblunt]

martinparker28

https://zentalk.asus.com/en/discussion/comment/232078#Comment_232078

I suggest you read his whole post because as far as I can see he suggests people try the phone if possible before they buy, I certainly don't object to new posts like this as it gives people an insight to products before they buy.

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Thing is, his case is rather odd, most here would agree that the zenfone 9 is far from sluggish and slow. The only real issues I know of are: oversharpening + no LED notification.

[martinparker28]

Danishblunt

https://zentalk.asus.com/en/discussion/comment/232079#Comment_232079

Thing is, his case is rather odd, most here would agree that the zenfone 9 is far from sluggish and slow. The only real issues I know of are: oversharpening + no LED notification.

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Very poor WiFi and/or mobile network connectivity
Random restarts when phone not in use
Calls randomly disconnecting during phone calls
Phone unlocks in pocket
Proximity sensor not working (screen stays on when making calls)
To name but a few, what I will say is the phone is perfect size (in my opinion), fantastic build quality, very decent camera, and ,as you say extremely quick, let's hope software updates fix these issues.

[mumei6102]

martinparker28

https://zentalk.asus.com/en/discussion/comment/232260#Comment_232260

1. Very poor WiFi and/or mobile network connectivity
2. Random restarts when phone not in use
3. Calls randomly disconnecting during phone calls
4. Phone unlocks in pocket
5. Proximity sensor not working (screen stays on when making calls)

To name but a few, what I will say is the phone is perfect size (in my opinion), fantastic build quality, very decent camera, and ,as you say extremely quick, let's hope software updates fix these issues.

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It means this phone behaves randomly depends on unknown thing. I don't have any of mentioned issues:
I have good WiFi and mobile connectivity.
My phone never restarted so far.
Calls never disconnected so far.
Phone never unlocked in pocket so far (I use fingerprint reader).
Proximity sensor is working correctly to me.
However I have different annoying software problems like this https://zentalk.asus.com/en/discussion/64627/optical-stabilization-stops-working-during-video-record...

[esp2002]

It might be worth going to a service center to have the phone checked out.

@martinparker28, I have not faced any random restarts ever. I have faced poor network but I think that is because of my work area. I have faced the phone unlocking in my pocket. I do pray, like you, for a quick software update to fix this.